Corporate Innovation

Future proof your business through a culture of innovation.

Corporate Innovation

Disruption either happens to you or because of you.

Partner with BC Tech, and signal to your team, shareholders, and industry peers that you’re all in on innovation and future proofing your business

BC Tech’s Corporate Innovation program gives your team the tools, the experience, and the network to navigate your enterprise’s innovation journey. We sit at the centre of the innovation and tech ecosystem, connected to the most exciting tech leaders, startups, and professional service providers in the province. With deep knowledge of the best and boldest technology-related business models and techniques for adoption, recruitment, and change management, BC Tech is the ideal innovation partner. Current trend insights, rapid use case identification, and effective technology deployment and change management make the difference between those companies that lead their industries and those that lag and witness the gradual decline of shareholder value.

THE PROGRAM

The Corporate Innovation program’s mission is to future-proof your business by instilling an enduring innovation mindset in your culture. By creating a culture of innovation, employing innovative operational frameworks and methodologies, and connecting deeply with industry experts in the BC Tech ecosystem, you will be able to see, understand, and adjust to the perpetual onslaught of emerging tech, defend your competitive advantage and protect your shareholders’ value. The fruits of this mindset may even be new and innovative products and processes that make you the disruptor. The BC Tech Association offers two Corporate Innovation (CI) programs, each with a different level of exposure to the program’s four main components.

PROGRAM DETAILS

-Program Components-

1. Innovation space

Stationed at the nexus of the technology community in the BC Tech Innovation Hub at 887 Great Northern Way, innovation partners will have 200 sq. feet of private office space and access to a large shared space where collaboration, learning, and serendipity occur. The space embeds partner innovation teams in the community and insulates them from the organizational pressures of the enterprise, providing space to develop the mindset of experimentation and continuous learning required for leadership in the rapidly changing world of innovation.

2. Learning modules

Tech startups are innovative and agile by design. Through the BC Tech Corporate Innovation program, your team will master the startup mindset, frameworks and methodologies. From a range of learning modules – including design thinking, lean methodology, OKRs and Sprinting – you’ll choose those that are most relevant to your business, and learn from tech leaders we bring in to coach you.

3. Collisions

With a shared collaboration space in the BC Tech Innovation Hub, scheduled encounters with tech sector leaders, and proximity to other sector stakeholders (government, research, post-secondary, accelerators, etc.), your team will mix its experience and learning in planned and unstructured collisions with innovative professionals from across the BC tech ecosystem. Our program includes tours of local tech company offices, fireside chats with startup CEOs, hackathons, talent events, and introductions to tech companies around the world that are innovating in your industry. Knowledge is shared, solutions are discovered, and new ideas emerge. Our program isn’t just about learning. It’s about creating serendipity and fostering the strategic partnerships that will drive your company’s innovation forward.

4. Institutionalizing support

Too often innovative thinking in the enterprise gets siloed or succumbs to dissenters. BC Tech’s Corporate Innovation program provides partners with support in change management, communications and training to ensure long-term, organization-wide business transformation. The inspiration, collisions, and modules in our program are only half the journey. The Corporate Innovation program ensures you’re ready to bring your new knowledge back to the company, entrench the learning, and inspire excitement across the enterprise.

Annual Strategic Partnership

The best partners are those that want to innovate to become industry leaders (or feel the imminent threat of disruption), and understand the ROI in participating in a multi-year partnership to transform their businesses. The Annual Strategic Partnership program includes:

500 sq. feet of collaboration space for use by the Annual Strategic partners;

10 innovative learning modules (max. 12 participants);

20+ ecosystem collisions (max. 12 participants);

10 hours/month of program coaching and support;

40 hours of institutionalizing support;

Optional three seat(s) at the Strategic Partner Executive roundtable – where Executives meet on a regular basis to share challenges, learning, and inspirations through this program

There will never be a ‘Mission Accomplished’ sign when it comes to innovation. It’s a continuous journey of experimentation and development which your company must turn into a core competency. Mastery takes time and commitment. Partners that choose to make a three-year commitment to the program – a timeframe option typically offered and recommended by other leading corporate innovation programs – will ensure that their teams and enterprises learn and transform effectively.

In year one, partners will learn the language of innovation and the landscape of the BC tech sector, apply learnings to new product prototyping, and build meaningful relationships in the startup community. This is Horizon One.

In year two, innovative and agile thinking will be integrated into your company’s broader strategy. New, innovative products can be expected to arise, and a culture of innovation will start to diffuse throughout the entire organization. This is Horizon Two.

In year three and onward, the organization will entrench innovation and agility in its culture, with repeatable processes that produce disruption and protect from it. This is Horizon Three.

Three-Month Beta

This is the ideal program for organizations that either want to learn how to develop and launch their own in-house innovation team, or wish to test drive the Corporate Innovation program before committing to the annual strategic partnership. The three-month Beta program includes:

By the end of this program, corporate partners will have a strong grasp of the immense changes occurring in technology and how those will influence their businesses. Partners will watch and learn how forward-thinking organizations operate, and will be equipped to communicate a sense of urgency around innovation to their broader organization.

Interested in our Corporate Innovation Growth Programs?

For more information or to get started with our program, please get in touch.

FAQ

[expand title=”Can any organization join a BC Tech corporation innovation program?” tag=”h5″] Yes. If innovation is a strategic imperative for your organization, we would love to speak to you about how our programs can complement or lead your efforts. [/expand]

[expand title=”What other companies have participated in a BC Tech corporate innovation program?” tag=”h5″] The CI program was soft-launched in the Spring of 2017 with one annual strategic partner; BCAA (British Columbia Automobile Association). BCAA has been instrumental in the refinement of the programs that are now available today. [/expand]

[expand title=”How many corporate innovation partners will there be?” tag=”h5″] We are limiting the annual strategic partners to seven (7) at any given time. The three (3) month BETA will intake up to three (3) companies per cohort. [/expand]

[expand title=”When do the programs start?” tag=”h5″] The annual partnerships can start at any point of the year. Our three (3) month beta is offered twice per year starting in March and November. [/expand]